Mixology Monday is back and this month the folks at eGullet are hosting. The topic for September is “Dizzy Diary” or more simply cocktails made with dairy products and eggs. Not sure how eggs made it in there as dairy, but hey, why not.

Having just completed the Bar Smarts course, I wanted to use some of my knowledge. I wanted to take a classic and modify it slightly and I chose the classic martini of 1/2 Gin, 1/2 Vermouth and a dash of Orange bitters. I also decided to take this martini from before dinner to after. We all need dessert ya know.

Here’s what I did. I used vodka rather than gin and replaced the vermouth with chocolate milk. What a got was a glass of chocolaty goodness with just a hint of spice from the bitters.

Chocolate Milk Martini

1 1/2 oz. Vodka
1 1/2 oz. Chocolate Milk (I made mine using half & half and chocolate syrup)
Dash Orange Bitters

In a mixing glass prepare you chocolate milk by adding the half & half and chocolate syrup. Next add your ice and a dash of bitters. Give the whole thing a stir. Next add in the vodka. Grab the metal part of your Boston shaker and secure it on the mixing glass. Shake well to get a nice froth and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with what else? A chocolate olive like the ones from Cholive.

Mixology Monday XXII - Dizzy Dairy - eGullet

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• Mixology Monday - Strawberry Ginger Martini (drinkoftheweek.com)

I had a dream once about a bell pepper cocktail served in a hollowed out bell pepper. Last night, I made half the dream come true. (Serving it out of a bell pepper seemed messy and inconvenient.)

My friend at Savvy Housekeeping grew some beautiful bell peppers and was game for helping me figure out how to best use the sweet and spicy flavor in a cocktail. What we came up with was tasty and unlike any cocktail I’ve had before. It was light, refreshing, and slightly spicy. The grapefruit and the bell pepper complimented each other, since both combine sweetness with a little hint of bitter.

Fresh-from-the-garden produce is always tasty, but I’m sure the peppers of your choice from a farmer’s market or grocery store will also give delicious results. We used green bell pepper in the cocktail and red to garnish, but any bell pepper will do. In general, green has the most spice followed by red, orange, and then yellow.  Color choice will affect the color of the drink more than the flavor in most cases.

Ultimate Bell Pepper Cocktail

2 bell pepper rings
1 tbs. mint
1 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
1/4 oz. lemon juice (or orange juice if you want to accent sweet more)
1 1/2 oz. vodka
3/4 oz. Galliano liqueur (feel free to sub another herbal liqueur like Chartreuse)

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and bell pepper with the juices. Add ice, vodka and liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with bell pepper ring.

past drinks

Created by Barbi Caruso at Luau in Beverly Hills, California this week’s drink will help us all cling to Summer for one more long weekend. The aptly named Pink Pineapple combines X-Rated Fusion, Skyy Infusions pineapple and fresh pineapple! If you are into pineapple, is your drink.

Pink Pineapple

2 oz X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
2 oz SKYY Infusions Pineapple
3 slices of fresh pineapple
1 pineapple slice for garnish

Blend all ingredients with ice in a blender for 20 seconds. Serve in a tall glass. Garnish with pineapple slice.

past drink of the week cocktails
Courtesy X-Rated Fusion Liqueur

At the recent SF Chef’s food, wine and cocktail extravaganza, Skyy held a cocktail competition. The competition was held over 3 days and featured 6 top San Francisco bartenders. Each day featured spirit and secret ingredient, Iron Chef Style. The semifinals pitted 3 bartenders from a larger field of 15, the six would vie for a spot in the Finals. The finalists and winner would be picked by a panel of 3 judges. Cocktails would be judged on balance, presentation, use of the secret ingredient and other attributes.

Enjoy this day be day account.

Semifinal 1: Spirit - Whiskey, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Herbs

Drink 1 - Brandon Skaggs of Cortez - Irish Peach (Tullamore Dew, Cynar, peaches, sage, bitters, honey)
Drink 2 - Nick Varacalli of RN74 (Wild Turkey Rye, American honey, honey, canton, thyme) winner
Drink 3 - Joel Baker of Bourbon & Branch (Russels Rye, Luxardo, lemon juice, peaches, mint, Curaçao, bitters)

Semifinal 2: Spirit - Skyy Infusions, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Cherries, Apricots & Peaches

Cocktail 1 Carlo Splendorini of Gitane - (Skyy citrus, canton, ferlum, peach, orange, hot salt, chartreuse, ferlum) The Bouquet winner
Cocktail 2 - Scott Baird of Romolo 15 (Skyy passion fruit & pineapple, ferlum, cherry and more)
Cocktail 3 - Borys Saciuk of Zapatistia - The Passionate One (Skyy pineapple & passion fruit, peaches, apriocot, cherry, allspice dram & more)

Finals: Spirit, anything from Gruppo Campari, Secret Ingredient - Peppers

Nick vs. Carlo

Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

1.5 oz. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
0.5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liquer
0.25 oz. Orange Curacao
0.25 oz. Velvet Falernum
0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
Dash of Orange Bitters
Muddled Red Pepper

Carlo Splendorini of Gitane Restaurant & Bar

1.5 oz. Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Malthilde Pear Liqueur
0.5 oz. Green Chartreuse Liqueur
1 tbsp. Honey
¾ oz. Lemon
Jalapeño

and the winner is …
Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

photos & recipes courtesy Skyy Spirits

Absolut Vodka released its third special “city” edition vodka — Absolut Boston.

Following on the heels of Absolut New Orleans and Absolut Los Angeles, this Boston vodka is flavored with black tea and elderflower.

Tea and elderflower are hot flavors on the mixology scene right now, so keep your eye out for this vodka at your favorite hotspot.
The company will donate $50,000 of the proceeds of Absolut Boston to the Charles River Conservancy, a Boston area charity dedicated to the stewardship and renewal of the parklands along the urban riverbanks.

Absolut Boston

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Finally! Season 3 of “Mad Men” premieres August 16. And it’s just not “Mad Men” without booze.

Who can forget when Sally Draper mixed a Tom Collins for the grown-ups? Or when Don Draper wooed Rachel Menken with one of the prettiest Mai Tais I’ve ever seen? And of course there was Freddy Rumson’s … incident in the office after one Screwdriver too many.

So what better way to celebrate the start of this new season than with a 1960s Mad Men cocktail party!

Here are a few cocktails we’ve seen characters order, plus some additional suggestions appropriate for the era.

Old Fashioned (Don Draper)

1 sugar cube
1 dash bitters
1 tsp. water
2 oz. rye whiskey

Muddle the sugar cube, bitters and water in an old-fashioned glass. Add rye and stir. Add ice plus a twist of lemon peel. (Don’t leave the peel in the glass) Garnish with an orange slice.

Vodka Gimlet (Betty Draper)

1 oz. lime juice
1 tsp. simple syrup
1.5 oz. vodka

Shake with ice then strain into a cocktail glass.

Gibson (Roger Sterling)

2.5 oz. gin
1/2 oz. dry vermouth

Stir with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail onion.

Brandy Alexander (Peggy Olson)

1/2 oz. Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz. brandy
1/2 oz. heavy cream

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Other 1960s cocktails:

Greyhound
Moscow Mule
Bloody Mary
Negroni

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• Mad Men and Drinking, Season Two, Part I (offthepresses.blogspot.com)
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After a Mixology Monday hiatus following Tales of the Cocktail we are back on track for August. Felicia’s Speakeasy is hosting the event this month, the theme? Vodka is Your Friend. Yes, it is. I decided to make this from a few ingredients I picked up in New Orleans. I settled on 360 Organic Vodka, Acai Blackberry Syrup and ginger ale for bite. I’m calling it the Acai Blackberry Cooler.

Acai Blackberry Cooler

1 1/2 oz. Vodka (we used 360 Organic Vodka)
1/4 oz. Acai Blackberry Syrup
Ginger Ale
Crushed Ice

In a shaker filled with ice combine vodka and Acai Blackberry Syrup. Shake well and pour into an chilled Collins glass. Fill with more crushed ice and top with ginger ale.

Mixology Monday XLI
Acai Blackberry Syrup - Sonoma Syrup

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